Bulk SMS Mobile Marketing Blog | Text Marketer » Retail SMS Marketinghttps://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog
SMS GatewayTue, 19 Feb 2019 09:46:43 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1Last minute Black Friday tipshttps://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2018/11/retail/last-minute-black-friday-tips/
https://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2018/11/retail/last-minute-black-friday-tips/#commentsMon, 19 Nov 2018 09:28:29 +0000james.scotthttp://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/?p=15844Continue reading →]]>The Super Bowl of sales is almost upon us, but wait, you haven’t planned how you are going to promote your Black Friday sale. Well don’t worry because SMS marketing is such a powerful and simple marketing tool, it will take you no time at all to tell all your customers about your Black Friday sale and start those sales rolling in.

The great thing about SMS marketing is how easy it is to use. It doesn’t require you to create any elaborate images like an email, or add any complicated HTML for your website, you can pretty much type your message, select your contact group, set your sender ID, and click send – a very simple 4 step process.

So why is SMS marketing a perfect fit for Black Friday?

By sending your customers a text message you will almost guarantee your message is read, and with smartphones being just as capable of online shopping as a computer or laptop, then the process from sending a message, clicking the link on a mobile phone, and searching your website is smoother and better than ever before.

There is no need after your customers have read your message to go to a computer and purchase, it can all be done from your customers smartphone.

With this in mind, to help you get the most out of your Black Friday sale we have added our 4 top tips below.

Tip 1 – Send your customers an SMS
If you haven’t started your Black Friday sale, as soon as it starts, send all your customers a text message telling them it has started, what they could buy, how much they could save, and how they can buy your products.

Even if your sale has already started, some of your customers may not be aware of it, they may be ready to shop elsewhere, so again send them a message telling them that your Black Friday sale is live and is better then everyone else’s.

“Black Friday Begins – Our huge Black Friday Sale has begun, so if you are looking for a wide range of gadgets with huge savings of up to 60% off, come visit is us in store or shop online at www.link.com”

Tip 2 – Send your customers an SMS on Black Friday
Of course you want to tell your customers about your offer on Black Friday, millions of pounds are spent in the UK alone on the day.

Remember though because it is such a big event, pretty much every business is running a Black Friday sale, so you may need to think out of the box to get people to come to your store or shop online. A simple prize giveaway along with the massive savings could be the trick.

“Black Friday is here, so come and visit us in store or online and save up to 40% off everything www.link.com. We also have a hook a duck game in store where you could win a £200 voucher along with other prizes.”

Tip 3 – Don’t forget Cyber Monday
It’s not just all about Black Friday, Cyber Monday is a huge day as well with £968 Billion being spent in 2015 and £1.1 Billion being spent in 2016, (Source: The Mirror) with Cyber Monday in 2017 thought to be even more.

Whether you are doing a separate Cyber Monday sale or your Black Friday sale is just extending to the Monday, sending your customers a text message on Cyber Monday is a must.

“Just because it’s not Black Friday anymore doesn’t mean you can’t save. Our Cyber Monday sale is on and you can continue to save up to 30% on all online purchases www.link.com”

Tip 4 – Send your customers an SMS on the last day of your sale
This is a must for all your sales, on the last day of your sale send your customers a text message informing them that they only have a matter of hours to make a purchase and save money. This is a great way to get those last few sales and nudge people who may have forgotten when your sale is ending.

“Our Black Friday sale is ending tonight at 12:00pm, so make sure you purchase before then and save up to 50% of selected products www.link.com”

If you haven’t already got an SMS account, sign up now and get set up and sending in a matter of minutes. Or if you would like any advice on your Black Friday sale, then give us a call on 0117 205 0202.

]]>https://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2018/11/retail/last-minute-black-friday-tips/feed/0The best time to send your Black Friday SMS marketing campaignshttps://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2018/10/business-sms/the-best-time-to-send-your-black-friday-sms-marketing-campaigns/
https://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2018/10/business-sms/the-best-time-to-send-your-black-friday-sms-marketing-campaigns/#commentsTue, 30 Oct 2018 09:28:37 +0000james.scotthttp://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/?p=15700Continue reading →]]>Every business across the globe is gearing up for Black Friday, it is without doubt the biggest and best retail period of the year. Last year the UK were thought to have spent a whopping £8 Billion over the 4 day weekend, and this year an incredible we are predicting it will hit £9.2 Billion.

One reason Black Friday continues to grow year on year, is the mighty mobile phone of course. The mobile phone once again topped desktop last year with 66% of website traffic over the Black Friday 2017 weekend coming through a mobile device (Source: Salmon).

With SMS having an open rate of 98% and 90% of those messages being read within 3 minutes, there is no better way to tell your customers your Black Friday sale has started than sending them a text message. SMS boasts a superior click through rate, consumers are more likely to click your link and browse your products when sent a text message as well.

Here at Text Marketer we want your Black Friday sales to be the absolute best they can be, and one way we can help you is by telling you when to send your Black Friday SMS campaigns. We have looked into the data and found the most popular times and even days that businesses send their marketing messages on.

Between 12pm – 1pm UK sales reached a peak of 976 transactions per second (Source: Expandly)

Before we give you the most popular times and days to send your SMS campaigns, we would always suggest that you send a bulk SMS message to your customers as soon as your Black Friday sale starts. Argos said that just 4 hours after they launched their Black Friday campaign last year, they had more than 2 million visitors to their website.

“These early record-breaking figures show that savvy shoppers are keen to bag themselves a bargain in the run-up to Christmas” – John Rogers, Argos Chief Executive

Consumers are waiting for your Black Friday sale to start, eager to save money and buy as much as they can, so why not tell them about it and get your sales rolling from the first minute.

Text Marketer stats
In the lead up to Black Friday we see a huge increase of messages go through our system, with the day itself seeing a 137% increase in messages being sent compared to the average Friday. Cyber Monday also sees an increase of 33% when compared to an average Monday.

It is not just Black Friday and Cyber Monday that there is an influx of messages going through our system. The day before Black Friday we see an increase of 65% compared to the average Thursday, with message volumes increasing as it gets closer to Black Friday, the week of Black Friday sees an increase of 49% compared to the week prior, and that week is 11% bigger than the week before that.

Best time to send leading up to Black Friday
As we have said, Black Friday is no longer a one-day event and can last weeks and even the whole of November. Sending your Black Friday SMS campaign will mainly rely on when your Black Friday sale starts, if like Amazon, you start your sale the week before Black Friday, then as soon as your sale is live, you should inform all your customers with a simple SMS message.

This being said we have looked at the data and picked the more popular days in the lead up to Black Friday.

Tuesday of Black Friday week - Surprisingly there is an 81%increase in messages being sent on the Tuesday before Black Friday compared to a standard Tuesday. The week of Black Friday is a popular time to start a sale, it gives retailers time to promote the sale and consumers enough time decide and purchase something they like.

Day before Black Friday – The day before Black Friday is a huge day for retailers and a huge day for text messaging. Very much like the Boxing day sales, over the past few years consumers look for online sales on Christmas day instead of waiting for Boxing day, it is the same with Black Friday, consumers are looking at items they can buy the day before.

The best time to send your SMS campaign the day before Black Friday is either the morning or evening, with retailers wanting to get their message in early, or soon after consumers have left work.

Best time to send on Black Friday
The morning is the best time to send your SMS campaigns with 82%of messages being sent between7:00am – 12:00pm, this is because retailers want to get their Black Friday offer in front of consumers before their competitors.

In fact, the 5 most popular hours during the whole of Black Friday are all in the morning, with only 6% of messages being sent in the evening (6:00pm – 12:00pm).

Best time to send on Cyber Monday
Before 10am is the best time send a text message to customers about your Cyber Monday sale, with 55% of messages being sent before 10am on Cyber Monday. Very few messages go out during the afternoon, with only 9% of messages going out during 12:00pm – 5:00pm and hardly any go out after 8:00pm.

Sending your message at the right time can be the difference between a successful Black Friday sale and one that never really takes off. Make sure you think about when your customers would like to receive your messages, too early in the morning and people aren’t ready to buy, too late and they have already made their purchases.

We would also advice that you send a reminder message to customers letting them know about your sale on Black Friday itself, with 58% of retailers send a message before Black Friday then again on the day itself.

Don’t be scared of sending out a few messages about your deals and offers, during this Black Friday period, customers are actively looking for the best deals and offers and will want to hear about them.

If you would like to speak to someone from our expert team who can advice you on best practice, then please call us on 0117 205 0202 or if you haven’t got an SMS account, then sign up for one now and get your Black Friday campaign off to a bang with SMS.

]]>https://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2018/10/business-sms/the-best-time-to-send-your-black-friday-sms-marketing-campaigns/feed/0The complete retail SMS marketing guidehttps://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2017/10/business-sms/the-complete-retail-sms-marketing-guide/
https://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2017/10/business-sms/the-complete-retail-sms-marketing-guide/#commentsTue, 31 Oct 2017 09:30:45 +0000jake2035http://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/?p=14365Continue reading →]]>Retailers listen up – we have put together a very special all in one SMS marketing guide just for you. We have already created 3 posts on this and along with an eBook, everything you require for sending perfect retail SMS marketing campaigns, is all on this page or a click away.

Our three posts on different areas of mobile marketing for retailers are posted below and at the bottom of the page, a handy eBook which you can download, print, and take away with you to have a look at every time you are sending a big SMS marketing campaign.

Retail dos and don’ts of SMS marketing
We have put together a retail SMS marketing dos and don’ts list, with all the things that retailers should be doing when sending an SMS message out and all the things they should not do. Read here

All in one guideWith the three above blog posts and the guide that you can view below, as a retailer, you should have everything you need to send the perfect retail SMS marketing campaign. Read here

But if there is anything else that you need we are always here to help, if you have a question or need some advice, just give us a call on 0117 205 0202 and we will be more than happy to lend a hand.

]]>https://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2017/10/business-sms/the-complete-retail-sms-marketing-guide/feed/0Example SMS marketing messages for retailhttps://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2017/09/retail/example-sms-marketing-messages-for-retail/
https://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2017/09/retail/example-sms-marketing-messages-for-retail/#commentsTue, 26 Sep 2017 09:38:38 +0000james.scotthttp://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/?p=14176Continue reading →]]>William Shakespeare, Roald Dahl, and Jane Austen have never had a problem creating amazing content. If alive today they would probably be the best people to talk to about the content of your message you are sending to your customers.

Now you may have a Shakespeare or a Hemingway in your business, but for those who don’t, it can be hard to write a message that grabs customer attention and purchase from you.

In essence, there is no ‘perfect’ SMS messages, as it can depend on a million things, well maybe not that many, but still quite a few. It depends on what you are trying to achieve, is it a sale, a phone call, just to inform customers. Who you are messaging, adults, teenagers, male or female. Is it a formal or informal message and so on.

We understand that all businesses are different, some are fully fledged, know exactly what they are doing and don’t need any help. But some are just taking their first steps into SMS and need a little helping hand.

Below we have put a whole bunch of example SMS marketing messages just for retailers, all in 160 characters or less. We have split them into 3 groups, Sales and Marketing, Delivery and Notifications, and Personalised Messages.

Feel free to copy or adapt any of these and see them work their magic – remember to put your specific opt-out code at the end of each marketing message, by clicking the ‘Stop’ button, so customers can opt out if they don’t want to receive your messages anymore.

Sales and Marketing

Get an EXTRA 15% off all French Connection items. Limited period only. In-store & online at www.link.com

Why go anywhere else when you could come to Best Mums Store to get your Mother’s Day presents. Flowers, cards, cuddly toys, we have loads to offer.

You deserve a treat! That’s why we are letting you know about our fantastic sale – just used the code SALE5 at www.link.com

20% off in-store purchases this weekend only. Show this text in-store and get 20% off your purchase. Can be used on multiple purchases.

Fancy a treat? Well, we currently have a sale on so why not treat yourself – you deserve it! www.link.com use the code TREAT4ME

Limited time only! We have a flash sale on where you can grab 20% off everything whilst stocks last! Visit www.link.com

Delivery and Notifications

Your order is on the way. We are pleased to let you know your order has been dispatched and will be with you in the next 2-3 working days.

Postman Pat and Jess are out delivering your parcel today and will be with you between 12:30pm and 3:30pm.

Hi Claire, those red shoes you were after are now in stock. To buy them follow the link www.link.com

Hi this is Pillows Direct. Your pillows will be delivered between 2:30pm and 5:30pm tomorrow. To change your delivery time, follow the link www.link.com

New store opening today! We have our new store opening today at 10:00am in Liverpool. So why not come along and get some great deals.

Delivery of 3 curtain rails will be delivered between, 9:00am and 12:00pm Wednesday. Not going to be in? Follow the link to change delivery time www.link.com

Hi Bill, we noticed you left some items in your basket. They will be there for the next 48 hours, or you can follow the link and finish your order www.link.com

Personalised Messages

Hi Sam. The Johns Shoes VIP sale is TODAY! To claim your 50% off code, follow the link and log into your account and use the code VIP50 at checkout www.link.com

Thanks for buying those super speedy running shoes Simon. We know you will love them and be running like Usain Bolt soon. We hope to see you again soon.

Hi Barbra, to say thank you for your recent purchase here is an exclusive special 10% off code just for you – visit www.link.com and use the code 10BARBRA

Happy Birthday Tim! We have a very special present just for you – 40% off everything for today only! Just use the code BDAYTIM at checkout www.link.com

Steve, you have style. That 3-piece suit will look great on you. Why not choose some shoes to go with it, we will even give you 30% off www.link.com

Morning Amy, thank you for your first purchase – we hope you like it! To welcome you to the family, here is a special 20% off code AMY20 www.link.com

Happy First Purchase Anniversary. It has been 5 years since your first purchase, so as a thank you, we are giving you 50% off your next purchase www.link.com

]]>https://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2017/09/retail/example-sms-marketing-messages-for-retail/feed/0Retail dos and don’ts of SMS marketinghttps://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2017/09/retail/retail-dos-and-don%e2%80%99ts-of-sms-marketing/
https://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2017/09/retail/retail-dos-and-don%e2%80%99ts-of-sms-marketing/#commentsTue, 19 Sep 2017 08:40:33 +0000james.scotthttp://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/?p=14118Continue reading →]]>Do this . . . don’t do that . . . a phrase we are sure you have heard over the years, and unfortunately, we are going to say it to you again. But this time we aren’t telling you off, no no no, we are helping you.

We see thousands of retail marketing messages going out every single day, the majority of these messages have brilliant and eye-catching content that get a fantastic response. There are however some messages that are not so good, these messages won’t include some key bits of information like a call to action, who the message is from or even worse not including an opt-out option. These types of messages will tend to get a low response and sometimes a negative one.

Just for you retailers, we have put together two lists, can you guess what they are . . . that’s right, a Do list and a Don’t list. These are to help you with your SMS marketing campaigns, to ensure you don’t make any mistakes now or in the future, and can send that perfect SMS messages every time.

We have added all the things retailers should be doing in their SMS marketing campaign in the Do list and all the things that retailers shouldn’t be doing in the Don’t list.

Retail SMS Marketing Dos

Do segment – Segment your data into different categories, meaning you can send a more targeted message.

Do include call to action – Include a call to action, be that you want the customer to call you, go to a website or pop into your store.

Do include a website – Include a web address at the end of your messages, this is like a signature in a text message. It gives the customer more confidence it is a real message from a respectable retail business and gives them the opportunity to browse your website.

Do follow up – The best way to get a good response is by sending a follow-up message to your original message. Send this out a week or two after the first message or towards the end of your sale.

Do say who you are – Ensure that either the Sender ID is set to your company name, or you include your name in the body of the text.

Do send delivery notifications – If you provide online ordering, send automated text delivery notifications to customers, these messages should include a date, time of delivery and anyway they can change it if they won’t be in during the delivery time.

Do reward your loyal customers – Reward your customers with personalised messages and offers, keep your customers happy and they will be loyal to you.

Do let people sign up – Allow people to sign up to your SMS loyalty program. Like signing up for an email newsletter, this is the same but with SMS. Allowing them to receive your special offers by SMS.

Do think about the timing of your message – Time your message with your desired outcome, there are better times in the day to send SMS than others.

Do check and test – Check your spelling and test the message by sending it to your colleagues. This is to ensure the message looks the way you want it and it can be checked for spelling by someone else.

Retail SMS Marketing Don’ts

Don’t pester – Don’t bombard your customers with hundreds of messages every week – this can put off even your most loyal customers.

Don’t send infrequently – Don’t randomly send messages unexpectedly. By not contacting your customers for 3 months, then sending them 5 messages in 2 weeks, and leaving them in the dark for another month, will annoy them and may think at times you are pestering them or ignoring them.

Don’t forget your opt-out – Ensure that you add the opt-out code at the end of every marketing message.

Don’t write reams and reams of text – Keep it simple, there aren’t many times that you need to go over 2 messages. Text messages should be kept short, easy to read and allow the customer to do your required action quickly.

]]>https://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2017/09/retail/retail-dos-and-don%e2%80%99ts-of-sms-marketing/feed/0The best time to send retail SMS marketing messageshttps://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2017/09/mobile-marketing-infographics/the-best-time-to-send-retail-sms-marketing-messages/
https://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2017/09/mobile-marketing-infographics/the-best-time-to-send-retail-sms-marketing-messages/#commentsTue, 12 Sep 2017 08:48:51 +0000james.scotthttp://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/?p=14068Continue reading →]]>Retailers use SMS marketing in many ways, but the number one way that retailers use SMS is to promote and sell their products. SMS marketing is low cost and has the best open rate and click-through rate of all marketing channels, so for retailers, it gives them a great return for their money.

SMS response rates 45% – Email response rates 6% (Source: Gartner)

But SMS marketing only works when the message and timing are right. Sending a great message with a fantastic offer in at 3:00 am, will NOT get you a good response and will more than likely annoy people. Nor will only sending one text message on the final day of your sale, only giving customers a couple of hours to make a purchase.

Here at Text Marketer, we have undertaken our own research, looking through hundreds of thousands of messages and tons of data, looking at what the best times in the day are for retailers to send SMS marketing messages, along with some of the best days and specific times of the year.

Best times in the day to send SMS campaigns – Weekdays

8:00 am – 12:00 pm – Mornings are a popular time to send messages, this is because people are arriving at work, checking emails, and tend to have time to read messages and even have a quick shop online.

5:00 pm – 9:00 pm - Early evenings and before people are getting ready for bed is the final time in the day to send a text message. Sending a message much later than 9:00pm means customers may not have enough time to buy from you or may decide to leave it till the morning and forget about it completely. But also, you are approaching bed time so customers might not like a message after this point.

Best times in the day to send SMS campaigns - Weekends

Saturday, 8:00 am – 12:00 pm – Very few messages are sent after 1:00 pm as people tend to be busy with family or friends. So send the message early but after they get up, as people tend to like a little lie in – give them time to add a trip to your store into their plans.

Sunday, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm – Again businesses tend to send morning texts, giving people time to think about your offer before being busy. These messages are being sent out slightly later, starting at 9:00am instead of 8:00am on Saturday.

Sunday, 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm – The final time in the week to send a text message to customers is late afternoon/early evening. Most people have finished doing their activities for the weekend and are ready to relax and sit down for some personal time.

Best days to send SMS

Fridays – Friday is the most popular day to send SMS marketing messages, with a huge 44% increase in SMS campaigns being sent out on a Friday compared to the next most popular day.

End of the working week – There is a 38% increase in SMS campaigns being sent towards the end of the week compared to the start

Best time in the year to send SMS

Black Friday & Cyber Monday – It goes without saying, the biggest day for retailers is Black Friday. So send a message on Friday and a few messages leading up to it as well. And don’t forget Cyber Monday which is also huge.

December – During the lead up to Christmas, most retailers have a sale on and getting customers to buy from you during the Christmas period can be hard. With so many other stores and a huge variety of presents to buy for friends and family, making your store stand out can be hard. But with a couple of well-timed text messages that allow customers to claim the offer in store or online, consumers will come to your shop and purchase from you rather than your competitors.

January sales – Just after Christmas comes the big January sales, these tend to start on Boxing Day, but some retailers are starting their online sales on Christmas Eve. Send a text message on boxing day and multiple times during January can help you boost sales. You could even send a text message on Christmas Eve or late Christmas evening.

Valentine’s Day – Valentine’s day is another big event for retailers with £518 million spent on gifts. So sending a text message with gift ideas to customers, means they will look good and they will be happy with you and your help.

Mother’s and Father’s Day – Both are big days in the calendar for retailers, with Mother’s Day being the most popular occasion for buying a card after birthdays and Christmas (sorry Dad). Send a text message out about cards and gifts a week before, and even the day before for those who have forgotten.

Spring & Summer sales – Both Spring and Summer sales are great ideas, a simple SMS can boost sales in the new stock, or even send a text at the end of the sale to clear as much stock as you can.

Birthdays – What we are seeing more and more of now is Birthday messages to customers with a personalised Birthday offer on. This is a great way to make a customer smile, feel special and even get a sale out of it.

Remember that these are suggested times and days, and your customers may be different. We always advise that you test, test and test again. So try sending messages at different times and different days to see what works best for you.